Guide to the Publicity Clock Company Advertising Cards and Brochures, circa 1920s and undated

The Publicity Clock Company, an advertising firm in New York City from around 1915 to at least 1930, placed advertisements in local movie theaters by means of the Publicity Clock, a device that projected the image of a working clock face with a repeating sequence of advertisements displayed within the dial. Throughout the 1920s and perhaps later, the company was located at 105 West 40th Street and run for a number of years by Leslie Neuberger. The collection includes chiefly advertising cards and brochures for the Publicity Clock Company. The collection also includes a holiday greeting card, a warning notice to advertisers, and a fill-in form postcard addressed to Ad-Traction Clock Co. Except for the postcard which was printed for use during the 1920s, none of the materials are dated.

The collection includes chiefly advertising cards and brochures for the Publicity Clock Company. Each advertising item has an illustration of a theater audience with a Publicity Clock projecting a clock face and advertisement for the company itself next to the movie screen. The company name, address, and slogans, including
“the best and most refined advertising medium of the present day”
and
“always before the eyes of the public,”
complete the company's advertisement. The two brochures, intended primarily for movie theater owners and managers, also explain in detail what the Publicity Clock was, how it worked, and the advantages of using the device. The collection also includes a holiday greeting card from the company, a warning notice to advertisers about people falsely claiming to be employees of Publicity Clock Co., and a fill-in form postcard addressed to Ad-Traction Clock Co. at the same mailing address as Publicity Clock Co. Except for the postcard which was printed for use during the 1920s, none of the materials are dated, although a different mailing address and device capacity of 8 rather than 12 advertisements suggest one brochure pre-dates 1919. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Advertising, Sales & Marketing History.

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The Publicity Clock Company, an advertising firm in New York City from around 1915 to at least 1930, placed advertisements in local movie theaters by means of the Publicity Clock, a device that projected the image of a working clock face with a repeating sequence of advertisements displayed within the dial. The Publicity Clock Co. engaged advertisers, collected fees from them, and supplied the advertising transparencies for the device. Theaters received a portion of the proceeds for projecting the colorful image on the wall near the movie screen.

Throughout the 1920s and perhaps later, the company was located at 105 West 40th Street and run for a number of years by Leslie Neuberger, the brother of Roy R. Neuberger, the founder of Neuberger Berman. The mechanism that intermittently changed the advertisements was patented by John U. Barr on July 20, 1915, patent number 1,146,839. Although not represented in this collection, the company was later known for the slogan,
“Let Time Tell Your Story.”